Twenty Questions
by Jaganashi
Summary: Yusuke wants more straight answers from his friend, and naturally, Kurama wants to make a game of it.


Author's Note: It's a good thing that no one objected to the last friendship fic, because I'd have to warn pretty heavily against this one. It sort of...meanders a bit. I see Yusuke and Kurama as being comfortable enough with each other to talk openly and train in ways that they cannot get from other outlets. When Yusuke fights with Kuwabara, it's hardly in a training scenario. Hiei prefers his solitude to inane human activities. And surely Kurama must feel some relief himself, in having someone know who and what he is in the human world...and still accept him for it, offering challenges and friendship. Why else did he feel the need to reach out to a stranger with his story while holding the mirror of forlorn hope?

(Set post Dark Tournament, pre Chapter Black)

**20 Questions**

Yusuke's relationships never seem to be normal. Hell, his jr high rival who he used to shove into the pavement on a weekly basis, is now one of his most valued friends. His mother is hardly a parental figure and he still has no clue as to what miracle kept Keiko by his side, even when he knew that he was being an unbearable prick.

Another close friend is, oddly enough, a fox in the truest sense of the word. While Shuichi Minamino is well-behaved and respectful to a fault, Yusuke is becoming more and more exposed to who his teammate really is. Manipulating with his words, his actions. Deriving responses and testing limits. Subtle then sometimes shocking, all with a playful smile as he enjoys the game of back and forth while their friendship builds.

Yusuke enjoys it too, for the most part. It's something new, something open and without judgment. Yusuke wants to be Kurama's friend based on who the man is, not who Kurama pretends to be to please the other humans in his life. And it certainly seems to please Kurama to be able to toy with Yusuke lightly and innocently enough. The human teen is even beginning to learn the slow skill of reading between the lines.

Of course, there are still times that the damn fox annoys the hell out of him. And Yusuke is fairly certain that the fact alone amuses Kurama to no end.

Strike the fairly from that statement; Yusuke knows without a doubt that the kitsune is amused. Kurama's smile is pleasant as he watches the sidewalk stretch out before them. Autumn leaves scatter about, sweeping up and rustling at their ankles as they walk through a park that lies between their respective homes. In the darkness of night, they would sometimes meet nearby to run or train, but the sun is still early in its decent. Passing the occasional person along the way, the two seem content to merely stretch their legs and talk of things that the passerby could only guess about.

"God dammit, you never give a straight answer for anything when you're in one of these moods. A yes or no would do a lot of good, you know."

The redhead had indeed been tormenting his friend with a ceaseless play on insignificant words, harmless but entertaining. He does, however, recognize the sound of youthful frustration in the teen's voice. Slender hands are placed into the pockets of his light jacket with a shrug. While his body language nears apologetic, his voice still holds a hint of playfulness.

"I'm sorry, Yusuke. Please. Ask whatever it is you want."

Yusuke gives a snort of a laugh, disbelief in his voice. "Uh-huh. Just like that, huh? As if whatever I ask will get me a straight answer?" The dark-haired boy shakes his head once, just for good measure.

"If the answer is as simple as a yes or no." Kurama concedes with a wry smile. As much as his younger friend pushes borders and tests limits, he also responds surprisingly well to structure. Having rules doesn't mean that Yusuke will refuse to break them, but it does seem to give the detective a focus for his energy. The teen provides a sometimes unexpected puzzle that Kurama is all too willing to explore in this world that had previously been monotonous and predictable. If he were to be completely honest with himself, despite his affection for his human mother, he had found the years here to be rather lonely in his self-inflicted illusions. "I'll even offer you a deal: a game of 20 questions. You get ten questions that I must truthfully and without elaboration answer, as that seems to be the type of answers that you're asking for. Then I'll get my ten."

Yusuke glances over, seeing the genuine interest expressed on his companion's face. A part of him considers the possible repercussions of such an agreement, as it wouldn't be the first time that Yusuke finds himself caught within words that he had never even known, let alone intended to say. Another, more predominant part of him, says fuck it.

"Fine." Yusuke rolls his neck, stretching his shoulders and causing a few soft pops as he considers his first question. "How old are you? I mean, an actual number."

A small sigh can be heard as Kurama admonishes, "I'm afraid that's not a yes or no question." He shoots a chastising glance at the detective, prodding and laughing with just a look. "You do pay attention when we speak, don't you Yusuke? Or is conversation just an act of futility?"

The teen grumbles, shoving his own hands roughly into the pockets of his green jacket. The wind isn't even nipping at his fingers, he just doesn't want Kurama to see how his hands ball and flex as he gets tripped up on technicalities. He wonders if all demons think so...literally. Calculating. "All right, then. Are you over...500 years old?

"Yes."

That had been easy enough, and Yusuke's brows arch up. "Really? Wow. Okay." He grins, watching his friend carefully to catch any response to his words. "I guess you being a senior citizen makes sense though, considering the way you drive. I've seen grandmas pass you in the city."

Kurama glares at the teen, eliciting a mirthful laugh. Despite the pointed look, there's a shared smile between them as the sky deepens in color and the air cools around them. The silence has weight to it, pressing into Yusuke the knowledge that he can have any question about his youkai friend answered. So long as he can ask it in the right way.

Yusuke doesn't want it getting around that he knows where the library is, let alone that he has an active membership card, but he had in fact done some research on kitsune myths and legends one evening when he wanted to be anywhere but home. There were a lot of things that he had laughed at, outright. But still there were others that...well...Yusuke's definition of possible was growing broader by the day. There had been something in particular that caught the teen's attention, though he couldn't imagine how to bring the question into a conversation.

But hell, now is the time that conversation isn't required. It's possibly a one in a lifetime chance of getting straight and narrow answers from the redhead. Still, he finds himself grasping for the words. "Well, I was reading...and some of the stories were..." His face twists into aggravation before he finally spits it out. "Aw, hell. Are you a succubus?"

Kurama looks startled for a moment, his face splitting into a grin soon after. He is indeed familiar with the hype of sexuality that comes along with the tales of kitsunes, and it was no wonder that such a term had been used here and there. "No." His head tilts slightly, the feral look in his eyes suggesting that he had just won some ground in the game of give and take. "Of course, a succubus does refer to a female..."

"God dammit, Kurama! That's going to have to count as two questions now, isn't it?" Brown eyes widen immediately, words tumbling out in a rush. "NO! Don't answer that. That wasn't a question." A sigh escapes the dark haired boy as he kicks a pebble, causing it to skid across the concrete and bounce into the grass a few yards away. "Fine. Are you...the male version of a succubus?"

Kurama's chuckle is soft, more self-amused than condescending. "No. I am not an incubus."

Yusuke rolls his eyes. "Well, then that was a waste of another question."

"Was it?"

A ginger brow rises in question, eyes gleaming with banter that remains unspoken. Yusuke waves him off before running the hand through his own hair. "Just for that, I'm going to get personal fox-boy. If you don't want to cut me some slack, then don't expect mercy from me."

"Oh," Kurama's voice holds an edge of something that the younger human has yet to identify. It makes him shiver just so slightly, his brain pausing to ask, _what the hell was that?_

"I wouldn't dream of your mercy, Yusuke."

Sure, it's sarcasm, but there's also something real and genuine laced through the statement. It makes Yusuke question things that he hasn't the words for, and so, it is pushed aside with the thought that if it's important, he'll figure it out along the way.

In the meantime, there are more questions to be asked. A mental recap has Yusuke assuring himself that he's got seven more questions. He had heard vague admirations of 'Youko' Kurama from Hiei, who needed very little incentive to gloat about the superiority of their race compared to mere humans. It does cause Yusuke to wonder, though. Just what was demon Kurama like, before he learned to play nice here in the human world?

"Have you ever killed a teammate?"

Some of the laughter faded from those green eyes, making him seem older yet still far from sad. "Yes."

Yusuke isn't surprised by the answer, and that alone seems to startle him. Why isn't he shocked and abashed? Perhaps, he muses, it's because he knows too well just how lucky he is that his teammates are strong, loyal friends. He's seen the lingering marks of betrayal on the spirits of others. He even suspects that Hiei and Kurama, behind their own walls, are cautious and wise from the scars of betrayal. It certainly isn't something that Yusuke looks forward to experiencing.

"Were there any other options?"

Instead of the 'no' that Yusuke expects, there's a long pause as Kurama visibly fights back words that threaten to pour out. The kitsune can feel Yusuke watching him struggle with his own rules of the game. The answer must be simple, no matter how harsh and cruel the facts may be when stripped of their circumstances and justifications. His voice is a low, reminiscent alto.

"Yes."

That answer serves as more of a surprise for the human. In the time that he's known Kurama, the fighter has always given his opponents ample chance at life, taking on a kill only out of obligation. The fox is nothing if not resourceful, and it makes the teen wonder as to what the other options had been.

Unfortunately, he can think of no way to word his rambling thoughts that can be satisfied with a yes or no response. Instead, he toes that line of intimacy even further, his curiosity getting the best of him.

"Have you ever killed a lover?"

"Yes." If Kurama is adverse to this particular line of questioning, he says nothing about it. He simply looks at Yusuke with calm, honest eyes.

"While still in bed?" Surely not.

"Yes."

The detective is disheartened and a little confused. How can one be so close and unguarded with another, then turn around and end the person's life before breakfast? His imagination is only so grand, and he finds it incapable of providing him with a situation that he can understand. He knows that he should veer the conversation to lighter topics, but this turn of events gnaws at him. "Why?"

"That's not applicable, I'm afraid."

Yusuke's mind halts at those words, confusion running deep and murky until brown eyes widen in realization. His mouth opens slightly in an silent 'ah,' as he remembers that the deal is to get a yes or no. Understanding the answer isn't a given. "...Did they even see it coming?"

"Yes and no." The young face contorts into a look of further confusion and Kurama lets a sigh escape. He'll give Yusuke this much, at least. "You assume that it must have happened only once in my life."

Comprehension dawns on the street fighter. Maybe Kurama really was a cruel bastard in the past, but he wonders just how much the fox has really reformed. How different can the past and present truly be? Yusuke has felt changes in himself just over these past couple of years as he finds more outlets and more purpose, more answers and even greater questions. He's not nearly as thoughtless or vicious as he once was, and he believes the same to be true of Kurama.

There's even a strange sense of fascination, as Yusuke explores just what sort of depths his comrade and friend contains. "Has a lover ever tried to kill you in bed, without you seeing it coming?"

"Yes."

There's a small weight dropped within the detective's chest, a pang of sympathy that he'll never name as such. While he agrees with the adage that it takes one to know one, Yusuke also realizes that you often become what you're exposed to. If you live your life by the street, you become part of it, in all its brutal and unsung glory. To say that Yusuke suspects a life of pain and deception from a couple of his closest friends would be an understatement. He knows that there are things beyond what he can relate to, and he doesn't try. He simply speaks with the open honesty of his opinions. "That's...jaded." Brown eyes, direct yet still somehow imploring, demand Kurama's attention. "I mean, you know that not all relationships are like that, right?"

They don't all end in betrayal, he wants to say. He wants to believe. Yusuke knows that he's hardly one to speak of friends and family, but surely some of these things can be life-long. To care about something does not always mean to eventually lose it.

...Right?

Kurama answers with a small smile, picking up on Yusuke's internal struggle between ideals and practicality. His voice is soft but affirmative. "Yes, I know that those are merely extremes." He offers his human friend a warm look, wanting to express the implicit trust between them that had already been won all too quickly. He chooses not to explain it, leaving it unspoken between the lines that connect their young but growing friendship. "And I believe that concludes your ten."

Yusuke looks startled for a moment. "What? No way." Doubtful eyes roll upward in a mental tally. "Uh..."

Kurama waits patiently as the fingers come out, keeping track of just how many questions have been answered. Once both hands are accounted for, Yusuke frowns and shoves his fists back into his jacket in a conceding gesture. "...I guess so."

A bright grin then breaks across the Spirit Detective's face as he looks to the redhead with renewed interest. "All right. You're turn, then. A special limited edition, not under warranty, private look into the workings of one Yusuke Urameshi."

Kurama nods in acknowledgment, the wind tugging at his hair as the day around them slips into evening. His pace quickens, preparing for a nice cathartic run now that most of the people were out of sight. "Hm. I'll keep that in mind."

Yusuke nearly balks, his own speed increasing to match the other without much thought. "What? You're not going to ask your questions? I though it was a 'this for that' kind of thing."

The distance between his feet and the pavement increases as Kurama begins a light jog, with Yusuke keeping alongside. "It is. But it was never specified, when exactly I must ask my questions. Only that when I do, you must give an honestly simple answer of yes or no."

Yusuke glares, though his eyes hold no real heat. He had actually expected a twist of some sort, so he feels hardly cheated. Most especially when it means not having to answer any particularly prying or unexpected questions. The self-satisfied grin on the redhead's face makes him a little indignant, though. "You look like you just ate a fucking canary."

The only response is a bark of bubbling laughter before Kurama's jog breaks into an all-out sprint, challenging Yusuke to keep up with those long legs and inhuman grace. If he's considered quick now, Yusuke knows from experience that Kurama becomes even more elusive once he reaches the forest line.

With true challenges of strength and ability becoming harder and harder to come by, Yusuke is all too happy to rise to the bait. After all, none of Yusuke's relationships are really what people would call normal. What more is a friendly training run, pitting himself against the skills of a fox demon equally starved for a challenge?


End file.
